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as the teachers of record. They also suggested the battle
some school personnel might have when they do not
fully understand the model but are willing to learn. Acknowledging interns
Likewise, administrators at each school embraced the
program and showed they valued innovative ideas and would make mistakes
were willing to try a new process.
Throughout this study, participants described but not taking away
relationships they built in the schools hosting the their ability to continue
program. Manvell (2012) described how people
can feel climate through the relationships among working...allowed them to
individuals in the school. Two of the interns described
how they worked together with other teachers in the continue developing.
grade level. They built relationships through informal
lunches, planning periods, and collaboration. Sarah
described how she worked with a teacher who taught
a similar curriculum because they needed to ensure their students received similar
instruction. Support for interns through grade-level curriculum collaboration was
described by both Mrs. Taylor and Mrs. Cross (see Appendix A). Their examples
demonstrated the mentors’ willingness to step outside the relationships with the
intern and help team members. Tonya and Mrs. Green collaborated with lesson
planning and participated in professional learning communities. Gruenert and
Whitaker (2019) described such collaborative processes in school culture. They
found collaboration allowed conversations to build new ideas and provide purpose
for the work supporting a better future. Professional learning communities allow
teachers to work together to problem solve (Kaplan & Owings, 2013). Learning
communities also help teachers develop instructional strategies that allow them
to take instructional risks (Kaplan & Owings, 2013). Although Sarah and Allison
described feeling overwhelmed with being an intern by using the terms “thrown
to the wolves” and “thrown into this” as undergraduate students, they embraced
the role of teacher and took instructional risks. Although interns expressed feeling
overwhelmed, mentors provided support for the situations and demonstrated an
awareness of the interns’ needs. Acknowledging interns would make mistakes but
not taking away their ability to continue working toward their instructional practice
allowed them to continue developing.
Administrators in this study valued what interns were saying and doing in
the program. They took time to listen to their struggles and worked to provide
resources to them. This behavior aligned with the thinking of Kaplan and Owings
(2013), who described a psychologically safe school culture where leaders worked
to provide educators with time to collaborate and problem solve. Sarah described
how administrators supported her by working with students when they visited her
classroom or showing her another way to teach a concept. Although not all interns
described their relationships with principals, they did describe how they were
welcomed into their schools (see Appendix B). These feelings of being welcomed
support Wong’s (2004) assertion noted earlier about the importance of connection.
Likewise, Gruenert and Whitaker’s (2019) definition of the attitude of an organization
included how people felt daily.
Although Gruenert and Whitaker (2019) reported some schools have a negative
school climate, participants in this study did not describe negative school cultures.
This attitude was unsurprising because school districts initiated the programs and

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